I like the points made here! Maybe something that can also help as a reader is better tag system. If I want to read certain kind of fiction, I shouldn't have to go through various publications and then their posts to get what I am looking for. Surely there is a better way for it that Substack can and will roll out soon.
Agreed. I wonder if it has something to do with the disconnect between the web version and the app. I don’t do a ton of recreational reading on my computer because I’m usually writing or researching topics. But on the app, I feel like the experience is subdued, likely because of technical reasons. But a more robust system of categories and tags would be so welcome, with that being the home screen instead of Notes.
I agree about the home screen bit. And Substack needs more categories in fiction. The library is doing a good job but the reader does not go to that newsletter directly. They are bound to go search for that on explore page. I think this is one of the major reasons that fiction is not taking off as well on Substack as it can.
A lot of great ideas in this article. There is absolutely a necessity for bringing in more readers. I think Substack itself could do more to help writers find readers off platform even if it was a few articles with tips and ideas.
This is a great point, Jason. I’ll have to consider this myself when sharing off the platform. Making a point to entice others to join. I’ve been slacking on that front lately. Thanks for commenting!
One simple argument against public reader analytics is privacy. I don’t consider that I have a right to know everything my subscribers read or interact with when they’re not reading me. I think the ability to read anonymously (to the world at least) is important.
Do you want everything you touched visible forever on your profile? Most would answer no, I think.
Instead, I want much more from existing analytics.
- Is my open rate low because existing subscribers are interacting in the app rather than email? There are no “subscriber vs non-subscriber” view or like metrics to determine if you’re reaching new people or not. Except new subs…
- what’s the average read-through rate of a piece? Individual read% is already provided for the reader but not cycled back to the author. This may be impossible with ESP-data for email readers, but I’d still take it if it was clearly “app/desktop-only”
- or how about “unique views?” That’s a standard web analytics metric that’s missing on a post-by-post level I think.
Instead of gamification and a totally public airing of everything people touch, let’s start with getting the analytics more in line with some of substack’s more web-focused competitors.
Definitely with you on the privacy front. I wouldn’t want it to be available to just anyone, which is why I provided examples of how other companies use the data they are tracking to give back to the user for a more personalized experience. It’s a good point to be wary of advocating for additional tracking where it isn’t necessary, and if it could improve/worsen the reader experience in some way, it’s worth discussing. Thanks for making this argument, Eric!
Oh how I love this, Winston! The futility I've felt about spending energy into networking within a writer network, with all the disclaimers that you mention: it's not that I don't like writers, or that writers are not readers, too. But... where exactly are we shooting at?
And then, the genius statement: it's time Substack courted readers. YES YES YES.
So glad this resonated with you, Zoe! It can be a somewhat difficult subject to address, but I figured it's worth discussing and brainstorming what might or might not work to get more eyes on Substack as a whole. Or maybe it's already working as intended and we don't need to change anything. Regardless, thanks for voicing your enthusiastic support!
Respectfully, Winston: I think these are bad ideas. As a reader, I don't WANT "badges" for how much I've read. Gamification has already gone too far on the web.
On some TV streaming platforms, I do find it useful to see what shows I've watched part of lately. Often I turn them off while still intending to come back to them. So seeing what I've read lately might be useful.
As for the prevalence of readers: I don't have any stats, but I regularly get new Followers and Subscribers who don't have their own channel.
Hey Albert, that makes total sense. Outward facing badges are probably a distraction. Audible has them for small milestones like how many books you’ve listened to or how many hours you’ve reached, but they are internal and just for fun. And you’re right, I do see a wide variety of followers. I could be just too caught up in the creator bubble, not that that’s bad. I get motivated by surrounding myself with like-minded people. I just want to see Substack grow more mainstream like YouTube. So I’m wondering how we make that happen. Thanks for the comment! Great perspective to consider.
Good points and valid stats suggestions. As someone often bracketed on a sofa by Duolingo addicts with 500+ days streaks etc, then I think the reader gamification suggestion might have legs.
I think what drew a lot of us to Substack initially is that it was the antithesis of all the super shiny shittiness out there on the internet. This was a place to experiment, be authentic, and make our own rules. That was the perception, anyway. And maybe that was wrong, but I think that's the dream a lot of indie writers, misfits, and nonconformists cling to by being here. I tend to think all the glitz and gamification happening out there is just a bunch of algorithmic turd-polishing. So, it gives me the heebie-jeebies when people start talking about how they want to hook the jumper cables to Substack's nipples and make it just as manic as all the other platforms on the internet because, honestly, if I wanted that, I'd be on one of those instead. I'm here because this is—or was—different. It's not perfect, and it has some kinks to be ironed out, but it's still the only tolerable thing we have.
I think there are some interesting ideas in there, but as others have noted, I value my privacy and want to ensure my readers/users keep theirs. I wouldn't mind setting private reading goals or viewing personal metrics, but I dislike the idea of broadcasting those to the world in some kind of creative competition. (And who am I publicly one-upping if I set personal reading goals, anyway?) I already hate the checkmark system and hated it when the Substack briefly rolled out "paid subscriber" badges. I also hate founding member badges. All of those are needy, lame, and privacy breaches, as it's no one's business how or where I spend my $. The same would apply to where I spend my time and mental energy reading. Unless I leave a comment or recommend a stack, my reading habits are between me and the authors I subscribe to (and even that's dicey). Is there a system that allows for that kind of discretion? I'd be all for that.
I value all the pushback to these ideas. I find it interesting that the privacy angle is coming up, which is likely mostly attributable to me poorly conveying the ideas. The way I was looking at it is that they are collecting the data anyway, so I would like to see it come back to me in some way. If that means a fun congratulatory email saying I read more than the average user, then that's cool. As far as I know, they only do that for writers of publications. I think they could do more to accommodate the reader base of Substack, but maybe we're so early on in the infancy of Substack that I'm jumping the gun. Whatever they are doing seems to be working because we're here writing, reading, and talking, so I'm happy regardless. I suppose I like progress bars too much, haha. Anyway, thanks for supporting this side of the argument. Privacy is important and should remain in the user's control as much as possible.
No, I get you. I'm sorry if I came off like a jerk and a grumpy anti-tech curmudgeon (which I am, but I try to keep it under wraps ;-) The truth is, I'll probably never enjoy being on the internet, and I'm just making the most of this little oasis while it lasts. Like I said, I wouldn't mind a setting that allowed me to opt into those metrics, too. I'd just prefer to keep my privacy and not feed the human centipede in the process. . .
I'm down with these points and thoughts. Gamification on the reader side would likely work. I have no issue with Reader badges.
Improving the reading experience in the app is my biggest hope moving forward. I'd love to be able to read things in a more eBook-like experience for stories. E.g. page flipping rather than scrolling.
Yes!! 🙌 Making the app experience feel like a home for reading would be really nice. Any design improvements on that front would be a win. Thanks, Nathan!
I like the points made here! Maybe something that can also help as a reader is better tag system. If I want to read certain kind of fiction, I shouldn't have to go through various publications and then their posts to get what I am looking for. Surely there is a better way for it that Substack can and will roll out soon.
Agreed. I wonder if it has something to do with the disconnect between the web version and the app. I don’t do a ton of recreational reading on my computer because I’m usually writing or researching topics. But on the app, I feel like the experience is subdued, likely because of technical reasons. But a more robust system of categories and tags would be so welcome, with that being the home screen instead of Notes.
I agree about the home screen bit. And Substack needs more categories in fiction. The library is doing a good job but the reader does not go to that newsletter directly. They are bound to go search for that on explore page. I think this is one of the major reasons that fiction is not taking off as well on Substack as it can.
Definitely this! It's actually a lot harder to find exactly what you're looking for than I thought it would be when I first started using Substack.
Google search for the same substack topic works better than Substack search somehow in this case.
A lot of great ideas in this article. There is absolutely a necessity for bringing in more readers. I think Substack itself could do more to help writers find readers off platform even if it was a few articles with tips and ideas.
This is a great point, Jason. I’ll have to consider this myself when sharing off the platform. Making a point to entice others to join. I’ve been slacking on that front lately. Thanks for commenting!
One simple argument against public reader analytics is privacy. I don’t consider that I have a right to know everything my subscribers read or interact with when they’re not reading me. I think the ability to read anonymously (to the world at least) is important.
Do you want everything you touched visible forever on your profile? Most would answer no, I think.
Instead, I want much more from existing analytics.
- Is my open rate low because existing subscribers are interacting in the app rather than email? There are no “subscriber vs non-subscriber” view or like metrics to determine if you’re reaching new people or not. Except new subs…
- what’s the average read-through rate of a piece? Individual read% is already provided for the reader but not cycled back to the author. This may be impossible with ESP-data for email readers, but I’d still take it if it was clearly “app/desktop-only”
- or how about “unique views?” That’s a standard web analytics metric that’s missing on a post-by-post level I think.
Instead of gamification and a totally public airing of everything people touch, let’s start with getting the analytics more in line with some of substack’s more web-focused competitors.
Definitely with you on the privacy front. I wouldn’t want it to be available to just anyone, which is why I provided examples of how other companies use the data they are tracking to give back to the user for a more personalized experience. It’s a good point to be wary of advocating for additional tracking where it isn’t necessary, and if it could improve/worsen the reader experience in some way, it’s worth discussing. Thanks for making this argument, Eric!
I agree with your points though I think perhaps the reader badges could be made optional or something.
Unique views is probably the biggest missing piece of analytics.
I like the points you’re making, especially the Reader badges.
Thanks, Priya! Glad I’m not the only one 😄
Oh how I love this, Winston! The futility I've felt about spending energy into networking within a writer network, with all the disclaimers that you mention: it's not that I don't like writers, or that writers are not readers, too. But... where exactly are we shooting at?
And then, the genius statement: it's time Substack courted readers. YES YES YES.
So glad this resonated with you, Zoe! It can be a somewhat difficult subject to address, but I figured it's worth discussing and brainstorming what might or might not work to get more eyes on Substack as a whole. Or maybe it's already working as intended and we don't need to change anything. Regardless, thanks for voicing your enthusiastic support!
Respectfully, Winston: I think these are bad ideas. As a reader, I don't WANT "badges" for how much I've read. Gamification has already gone too far on the web.
On some TV streaming platforms, I do find it useful to see what shows I've watched part of lately. Often I turn them off while still intending to come back to them. So seeing what I've read lately might be useful.
As for the prevalence of readers: I don't have any stats, but I regularly get new Followers and Subscribers who don't have their own channel.
Hey Albert, that makes total sense. Outward facing badges are probably a distraction. Audible has them for small milestones like how many books you’ve listened to or how many hours you’ve reached, but they are internal and just for fun. And you’re right, I do see a wide variety of followers. I could be just too caught up in the creator bubble, not that that’s bad. I get motivated by surrounding myself with like-minded people. I just want to see Substack grow more mainstream like YouTube. So I’m wondering how we make that happen. Thanks for the comment! Great perspective to consider.
Great ideas.
Thanks!! 🙏
Good points and valid stats suggestions. As someone often bracketed on a sofa by Duolingo addicts with 500+ days streaks etc, then I think the reader gamification suggestion might have legs.
How could I forget about Duolingo?! Gamification to the max. Thanks for the reminder, Johnathan. Hope you’re doing well.
I think what drew a lot of us to Substack initially is that it was the antithesis of all the super shiny shittiness out there on the internet. This was a place to experiment, be authentic, and make our own rules. That was the perception, anyway. And maybe that was wrong, but I think that's the dream a lot of indie writers, misfits, and nonconformists cling to by being here. I tend to think all the glitz and gamification happening out there is just a bunch of algorithmic turd-polishing. So, it gives me the heebie-jeebies when people start talking about how they want to hook the jumper cables to Substack's nipples and make it just as manic as all the other platforms on the internet because, honestly, if I wanted that, I'd be on one of those instead. I'm here because this is—or was—different. It's not perfect, and it has some kinks to be ironed out, but it's still the only tolerable thing we have.
I think there are some interesting ideas in there, but as others have noted, I value my privacy and want to ensure my readers/users keep theirs. I wouldn't mind setting private reading goals or viewing personal metrics, but I dislike the idea of broadcasting those to the world in some kind of creative competition. (And who am I publicly one-upping if I set personal reading goals, anyway?) I already hate the checkmark system and hated it when the Substack briefly rolled out "paid subscriber" badges. I also hate founding member badges. All of those are needy, lame, and privacy breaches, as it's no one's business how or where I spend my $. The same would apply to where I spend my time and mental energy reading. Unless I leave a comment or recommend a stack, my reading habits are between me and the authors I subscribe to (and even that's dicey). Is there a system that allows for that kind of discretion? I'd be all for that.
I value all the pushback to these ideas. I find it interesting that the privacy angle is coming up, which is likely mostly attributable to me poorly conveying the ideas. The way I was looking at it is that they are collecting the data anyway, so I would like to see it come back to me in some way. If that means a fun congratulatory email saying I read more than the average user, then that's cool. As far as I know, they only do that for writers of publications. I think they could do more to accommodate the reader base of Substack, but maybe we're so early on in the infancy of Substack that I'm jumping the gun. Whatever they are doing seems to be working because we're here writing, reading, and talking, so I'm happy regardless. I suppose I like progress bars too much, haha. Anyway, thanks for supporting this side of the argument. Privacy is important and should remain in the user's control as much as possible.
No, I get you. I'm sorry if I came off like a jerk and a grumpy anti-tech curmudgeon (which I am, but I try to keep it under wraps ;-) The truth is, I'll probably never enjoy being on the internet, and I'm just making the most of this little oasis while it lasts. Like I said, I wouldn't mind a setting that allowed me to opt into those metrics, too. I'd just prefer to keep my privacy and not feed the human centipede in the process. . .
I'm down with these points and thoughts. Gamification on the reader side would likely work. I have no issue with Reader badges.
Improving the reading experience in the app is my biggest hope moving forward. I'd love to be able to read things in a more eBook-like experience for stories. E.g. page flipping rather than scrolling.
Yes!! 🙌 Making the app experience feel like a home for reading would be really nice. Any design improvements on that front would be a win. Thanks, Nathan!